Vancouver Principal Trombone?

It’s also incredibly expensive to get to Vancouver if you live in the other major Canadian cities. Considering their reputation for hiring internationally, I’m sure it didn’t quite seem worth it.

From the talk I've heard, this is the majority of the issue. Flights across the country aren't cheap, and you needed to bring two trombones (Tenor and Alto) which adds costs if you don't already own a double case. The reputation of the orchestra (with previous music directors) not wanting to hire someone doesn't help either. It's a vicious circle where an orchestra doesn't hire in a national round, so people don't show up, and as such the orchestra doesn't hire due to so few candidates. This happened in Toronto some years ago as well, and they were able to get rid of their national round requirements because of it.

Yeah Vancouver is an amazing city, but the orchestra does not pay well enough for the cost of living.